This unique microfilm collection represents perhaps the most definitive historical record of the Southwestern United States and Mexico.

Spanning the years 1631-1821, El Archivo de Hildalgo del Parral is a collection of official records, directives, treaties, court transcripts, wills, letters, and other documents relating to the Spanish Colonial Era in "Nueva Vizcaya"--the region now including much of the southwestern United States and much of Mexico.

Over 360,000 manuscript pages, written in Spanish, provide primary reference on the administration of government, Indian uprisings, slavery, public entertainment, military organization, silver mining, official residences, crime and punishment, and civil law. Since the history of the Southwest is often clouded by fiction, the Parral Papers benefit serious researchers attempting to uncover accurate historical data.

Included are references to Father Eusebio Koni, the accusation of Juan Mange by the Jesuits, a report on the assassination of the governor of New Mexico in 1644, plus an account of the 1720 peace treaties with the Apaches and the Texans.

The collection includes an index, which is available either in Spanish or English.